Panera launches $40 million ad campaign

Panera Bread, the 1,400-unit bakery-café chain based in St. Louis, Mo., debuted on Monday what it calls its largest ad campaign to date.

The $40 million campaign is called “Make Today Better,” according to Michael Simon, Panera’s chief marketing officer in a question-answer blog post at Forbes.com. Simon said Panera’s media spend is just more than 1 percent of revenues, still below its segment competitors that he said are at about 3 percent to 5 percent of sales.

“TV and radio spots and some out-of-home break today actually,” Simon told Forbes. “Digital, including social elements like Facebook and Twitter, will launch next week. It’s a message of collective optimism that suggests the opportunity to improve today is around us.” Click here for the Make Today Better website.